


Palabras de Papel

by gardenofmaris



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Finale spoilers, Post-Season/Series 04 Finale, belle is hella strong and brave, i just want edward kitsis and adam horowitz to stop giving my babies such hard times, i really hope so anyways, i want belle to teach him to be better and not leave at the first sign of trouble, i want rumple to be a better person next season, not weak, rumple is gonna change, she is my beast tamer, will tells rumple how it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 15:46:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4025635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gardenofmaris/pseuds/gardenofmaris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will talks to Rumple and tells him how bad he hurt Belle</p>
            </blockquote>





	Palabras de Papel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Oncer4Life69Dearie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oncer4Life69Dearie/gifts).



> The wonderful Oncer4Life69Dearie was kind enough to inspire this story with a comment they made on my other Rumbelle fic, "I'm A Fan of Twoo Wuv, Dearie" and was even kinder in letting me post it on here to share. Thanks for being so awesome.

“Look,” Will said, glaring at Rumplestiltskin menacingly. “You’re going to listen to me. And you’re going to listen to me good.”

“Nobody tells Rumplestiltskin what to do.” Said man sneered at the Knave of Hearts, trying to summon up the bravado that used to come to him so easily when he was The Dark One but failing miserably.

“That’s where you’re wrong. See, nobody told The Dark One what to do, unless of course you had the dagger. Pretty much anyone can tell the coward Rumplestiltskin what to do because you’re such a bloody pushover.” He pushed Rumplestiltskin at the shoulder and shook his head when he fell, cowering even as he tried to get up and pretend to be the Big Bad Wolf again. “Oh come off it. I’m not going to hurt you, as much as I wish I could. Because, see, hurting you would hurt Belle. I still don’t know what the hell she sees in you, but really man, you have to step up now.”

Rumple stared at the ground before looking up at Will with thinly veiled hatred at his success at bringing up the coward in himself that he so hated and tried to rid himself of.

“No no no, you don’t get to look at me like that.” Will reached down and pulled Rumple into a standing position. “You’ve gotten yourself into your own mess, and really I’m just trying to tell you something to keep you from hurting Belle. Because for whatever reason, she has chosen you, and I may not like it, but that’s her choice. She’s in love with you, and so she’s giving you the ten millionth chance to be a proper lover and husband. You weren’t a good husband to her the first time around, so it’s your job to make sure you don’t muck up again. Now, that Apprentice took all the darkness from your heart, so you need to take a page from Belle and do things that you never thought you could do.”

Rumplestiltskin sneered at Will. “And you think you know my Belle so well? What do you know? You were together for a couple of months or less when I got here, and I didn’t get here too long ago. You don’t know her.”

“You’re right. I don’t know Belle as well as you. But I do know how badly she was hurt by you. Do you know why we got together? Because I was there for her when she needed someone to help her through her grief. Whether or not I agree, you are her true love, and kicking you out of Storybrooke practically ripped the heart out of her. For the first week after you were gone, she looked like a real life zombie, walking around with a pale face and eyes all swollen and red from crying herself to sleep. I would go the the pawn shop and talk to her, and she would sit there for hours, telling me about your adventures together, the things she had thought you had given up for her, lies though they’d been, how you saved her when the Sheriff of Nottingham had wanted to use her like a common whore, how she knew it was true love because when she kissed you that day in the castle your face became almost human for a second. I was the first one to kiss her, and she pushed me away because she was still so hopelessly in love with you. She never stopped loving you, even when she was with me, but I could accept that because you were never coming back. I had time to let her fall in love with me, to let me be the happy ending you couldn’t give her.”

“Shut up, please. I don’t want to hear about this.” Rumplestiltskin walked backwards, sitting on a stool and letting his head drop into his hands. “I don’t want to hear it. Stop.” His voice broke on the last syllable and he kicked himself repeatedly for letting himself break down like this in front of the Knave of Hearts of all people, the man who could so easily exploit his weaknesses to take his Belle away again.

“You know what, fine. I won’t tell you any more details about us. But just know that she has always loved you, and I know that in whatever dark twisted way you had, you loved her. The point is that that darkness is gone now. You are no longer The Dark One. Emma is, and so while the saviors are out there saving her, you need to get over your problems and fight. Fight for Emma. Fight for Storybrooke. But most importantly, fight for Belle. Because I can assure you, if you keep going down this road, whatever it is that caused you to become The Dark One and be such a cruel bugger, Belle will leave. And maybe it will be for good. So decide. You were willing to turn the Savior dark to get your happy ending when you never needed that. Now that your heart is a clean slate, you had better get onto fixing yourself and making yourself into someone that’s worthy of Belle. Good luck.” He turned around and headed out the front door, paying no more attention to the man crying on the stool in his own shop.

 

\---

 

A little less than an hour later, Belle returned to the pawn shop and headed into the back room to pick up on the inventory count she’d been taking. But she stopped still when she saw Rumple laying on the cot, asleep but with his eyes swollen as if he’d been crying. Seeing him asleep for the first time since he’d woken up from the Apprentice’s spell, she was surprised at how tightly he had curled into himself, looking as if he was terrified of the world.

She walked up to the cot and sat down next to it, covering him up with a blanket before leaning in to kiss him softly on the forehead. He jolted awake suddenly, a loud gasp escaping him as he brought his hands up to shield his face from any hits.

“Hey, Rumple, it’s okay. It’s just me. It’s Belle.” She slowly and gently let her hand rest on his hair for a moment before petting it soothingly.

“Belle?” Rumple asked blearily, lowering his hands and looking at her. To Belle’s surprise, his eyes began to well up with tears and he lunged forward to wrap his arms around her waist, face buried in her stomach.

“Rumple, what’s wrong?” She cupped his face with very little pressure, gently moving his head so that he could look up at her face.

“I’ve been a horrible man and, even worse, a horrible husband. I don’t deserve you but you still love me.”

Belle’s face softened from being worried into something fond and a little sad at the same time. “You’re my true love. We were destined to be together.”

He held her a little tighter before pulling her down on the cot next to him. “I’m going to try to change, to deserve you for once. But I’m afraid I’m going to fail like I always do.”

“Shhh, shh,” she crooned, turning to face him and curling into his body in the way that she had missed so fervently. “If you mess up I’ll be right here with you to point you in the right direction.”

“I just love you so much, Belle. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“I love you too, Rumple. I won’t leave you this time either.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> title inspired by the song of the same name by Nelson Poblete
> 
> Original:
> 
> Un sueño de negras alas te cubrió,   
> A lo lejos oí un jarrón que se rompió;   
> Bajo la arena sin poder salir   
> Quise darte mis ganas de vivir. 
> 
> A través de aquella puerta de cristal   
> Tus ojos perdidos quería encontrar;   
> Un hilo invisible me lleva hacia ti,   
> Prefiero pensar que aún te acuerdas de mí. 
> 
> Hoy echo a volar palabras de papel   
> En el atardecer.   
> Y un árbol se incendia en la noche   
> Sin saber qué hacer. 
> 
> Hoy todos tus besos igual que una flor   
> Están enterrados en mi corazón.   
> La lluvia gritando que tú ya no estás   
> Me tiende el paraguas de la soledad.
> 
> Translation:
> 
> A black winged dream covered you  
> In the distance I heard a vase breaking;  
> Beneath the sand with no way out  
> I wanted to give you my will to live.
> 
> Through that glass door  
> I wanted to find your lost eyes;  
> An invisible thread leads me to you,  
> I rather think you still remember me.
> 
> Today I set free paper words   
> Into the sunset.  
> And a tree catches fire in the night  
> Without knowing what to do. 
> 
> Today, all of your kisses, just like a flower  
> Are buried in my heart.  
> The rain screaming that you’re not here anymore  
> Hands me the solitude umbrella.


End file.
